Just posted on Yahoo news (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=493&ncid=790&e=1&u=/ap/20031219/ap_en_mo/film_chronicles_of_narnia)!

'Lion' to Be Shot in New Zealand

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," the beloved fantasy novel by C.S. Lewis, will be made into a film in New Zealand, a newspaper reported Friday.

New Zealander Andrew Adamson, best known for the Oscar-winning animated feature "Shrek," will direct the film and Walden Media will produce it.

"We are extremely happy and excited to be starting work on the film in New Zealand," Wellington's Dominion Post Newspaper quoted Adamson as saying.

The movie is expected to be the first of five films based on Lewis' seven Chronicles of Narnia books, to which Walden holds the film rights.

Director Peter Jackson (news) shot the three "Lord of the Rings" films, based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy book series, in New Zealand using its unspoiled landscapes.

The $110 million budget film will start production preparations early in 2004, although work on the Chronicles has already started at Jackson's Weta Workshop in Wellington.

A spokeswoman for Weta confirmed it was currently working on the project, but declined to give details.

Shooting, much of it in South Island forests, high country and coastal areas, will begin mid-2004, the reports said.

Taxpayers will help foot the bill for the film, which will be made using a screen production grant scheme set up by the government this year.

Under the plan, production companies can receive up to 12.5 percent of their total costs back at the end of production.

"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe," published in 1950, is the second and best-known novel in the seven-part Narnia series. It also includes "The Magician's Nephew," "The Horse and His Boy," "Prince Caspian," "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," "The Silver Chair" and "The Last Battle."

Duuuuude!! :D:D:D:D:D Looks like now that his buddy's trilogy has shattered all sorts of box office records, CS Lewis' masterpiece will finally be done justice on the big screen. Hopefully it will be even half as good as the LOTR movies.

First of all, Aslan has to be played by James Earl Jones, and he should be done in the same live action/CG meshing used in Babe.

Interesting that they're doing five movies. I can see how The Horse and His Boy would be easy to cut out, since it doesn't really follow the main storyline. But what else? My money would be on The Magician's Nephew being paraphrased in a flashback sequence. Despite how the series is published today, it's a weak start to the story, and really does work better when you get the details after meeting the citizens of Narnia.

run.a.way pro.duc.tion n 1 : those U.S. productions which are developed and are intended for initial release, exhibition, or broadcast in the U.S. and that appear to be made in the U.S., but are actually filmed in another country.
2 : that hissing sound you hear as $10 billion drains out of the U.S. economy each year.

http://www.ftac.org

Mandalorian Candidat

12-19-2003, 04:05 PM

First of all, Aslan has to be played by James Earl Jones, and he should be done in the same live action/CG meshing used in Babe.

I don't know Chuxie. I'd hate JEJ to be put into typecasting roles. First as Vader, then as the crusty Tom Clancy thriller admiral, and now more lion roles...

;) yeah, OK he'd be good.

JediTricks

12-20-2003, 12:55 AM

I've known about this for months. My mom is furious that the director of Shrek was chosen for this, I personally think it's the totally wrong note as well, but directors have changed gears for the better once or twice... or once. ;)

bigbarada

12-22-2003, 01:32 AM

Long before I discovered Tolkien I was an avid fan of CS Lewis' Narnia books. I'm elated at the thought that these films could be half as good as LOTR; but I'm also apprehensive that they could be as bad as the Dungeons & Dragons movie. Overjoyed that WETA is involved in production; horrified that they are being directed by the same guy who made Shrek.

But then again, I would have had no idea that Peter Jackson would do such a good job on LOTR judging solely off of The Frighteners.

One question, are these films going to be live-action or CG-animated? When I first heard about the project I hoped they would be completely CG; but seeing what's possible these days with live-action films, it's probably not a bad idea.

JediTricks

12-22-2003, 03:16 AM

I thought The Frighteners was actually pretty entertaining, but I expected absolutely nothing and waited until it was on TV. But you have a point, there's nothing in that film that would point to the glory that is the LOTR film series.

evenflow

12-23-2003, 08:53 PM

I remember reading that book as a child and really liking it. I am looking forwar dto this.

EricRG

12-26-2003, 03:05 AM

Move over Tolkien? I think not. The CON series are really good stories, however, IMHO, are not even in the same class as LOTR. These movies will do nowhere near as well as LOTR.

My prediction: CON, when compared to LOTR, will be as the SW prequels are to the OT in terms of quality.

I hope they use Weathertop to film the scene where Aslan is "killed". ;)

scruffziller

12-26-2003, 08:04 AM

Was there a cartoon adaptation? I seem to remember seeing something that was just that when I was a kid and found it quite bizzarre.

sith_killer_99

12-26-2003, 09:08 AM

There was indeed a cartoon adaptation, some years back.

I always wanted to see the CON on the big screen, but alas, I thought it would only happen as a cartoon, much as I used to think the same thing about the LOTR trillogy. I did so enjoy "The HObbit" and the LOTR cartoons as a kid.

I do believe this will do nearly as well as LOTR in the terms of box office success. The CON has a huge following, as big as the LOTR,

But 5 films?!?!?! It will be hard to keep a following that long IMO. If they release 1 film every 3 years (like SW) it will take 15 years to get to the public. If they manage to crank out 1 film per year (like LOTR) it will take 5-6 years, let's face it even Star Wars has a difficult time holding most peoples interest for 6 years (EP1 1999-EP3 2005), they have to build up to it and then fade into the background, then build up to the next film, etc.

I am excited about this project. More so than the "On a pale horse" project. :rolleyes: What was the casting director thinking?!?!? I would have loved to have seen a film series based on the Incarnations of Imortality. I will watch this anyways. :)

Now all we need is for Hollywood to pick up Brian Lumley's Necroscope series!

But I digress.

As for Hollywood/America "losing out on millions/billions" :rolleyes: I don't blame the film makers. When you have to pay 10-20 million dollars for a big name actor/actress to fill the lead...well, you gotta cut costs somewhere...right? Besides, this is nothing new. Look at how many films/TV series have been shot elsewhere for budget reasons (Vancouver (SP?) comes to mind) can you say X-Files...Vancouver...D.C. ...same thing...lol. Ever wonder why sooo many episodes of the X-Files take place in the woods...lol.

Sure, it would be nice if more big films were shot in the US and not Tunisia (or some other off the wall place), but it would also be great if Stars didn't request 10-20 percent of a films budget just to play some lead role.

Anyway...I will get off my soap box...lol

stillakid

12-26-2003, 01:22 PM

As for Hollywood/America "losing out on millions/billions" :rolleyes: I don't blame the film makers. When you have to pay 10-20 million dollars for a big name actor/actress to fill the lead...well, you gotta cut costs somewhere...right?

No, you don't. The money is always there no matter how much they need. When, say, Warner Bros. heads off to their creditors and says that they'll need a hundred million to make it and can show that it will easily make that investment back (with an A-list star, etc), they'll get the money no matter where they shoot. See, this isn't about "saving" money because they can't get it. It's about saving money from the potential expenditure so that the executives wind up with a larger portion of the net profits pie. The Enron scandal was small potatoes next to the criminal bookkeeping by Hollywood studios. The only difference is that the taxpayers aren't directly hurt so Washington has no incentive to look into it...yet. I say that because, while it's taking a while for momentum to build, some in government are finally starting to take a look at Hollywood like any other kind of factory (which it is) and how the shipping of jobs overseas directly impacts a local economy. The problem still is this perception that EVERYBODY working in Hollywood is making millions when it is the farthest thing from the truth. Real middle-class (to lower middle class...living expenses are high in Southern California so the dollar doesn't go as far as other places in the U.S.) people are losing their homes, families, marriages, careers all because the already wealthy executives can save up to 40% by doing nothing but cross a border and underpay some hungry foreign workers. This whole notion of "saving" money would work if those "savings" were redistributed so that more product was made (thus employing more people), but it just isn't so. On the contrary, those "savings" are used by already wealthy stars, executives, and directors to buy that extra Ferrari, or that 4th house in the Palisades, or maintain the new trophy wife...

sith_killer_99

12-26-2003, 03:17 PM

Wow Um, ok, getting a little political. :o

Turbowars

12-26-2003, 08:26 PM

Never heard of this guy, film or book. What is it about?

stillakid

12-27-2003, 02:17 AM

Never heard of this guy, film or book. What is it about?

CS Lewis is a born again Christian type. Lots of "messages" strewn about his work. The SCREWTAPE LETTERS is a big one from him.

Turbowars

12-27-2003, 02:22 AM

CS Lewis is a born again Christian type. Lots of "messages" strewn about his work. The SCREWTAPE LETTERS is a big one from him.Born again isn't my thing, do the books reflect their belief?

sith_killer_99

12-27-2003, 05:57 AM

C.S. Lewis is a Christian, but the CON series is more fantasy with Christian overtones, i.e. Aslan (the Lion) allows himself to be humiliated and executed to save Narnia, then rises again because of his selfless sacrifice. So yeah, there are Christian overtones to the series. But it really is a wonderful epic.

Turbowars

12-27-2003, 11:54 AM

sounds cool

sith_killer_99

03-14-2004, 11:40 AM

Just a little update from SciFi.com:

Walt Disney Pictures will co-finance and distribute The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a film based on the children's fantasy books by C.S. Lewis, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The trade paper reported that the film will be budgeted at $100 million, with Shrek director Andrew Adamson set to helm the production, which will go before the camera this summer.

The Chronicles of Narnia follows the adventures of the four Pevensie children, who use a magic wardrobe to enter the world of Narnia, where they help a lion break a witch's spell that has frozen the once-beautiful land of dwarfs, beasts and giants. Ann Peacock penned the first draft of the script, while Adamson, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely handled revisions.

"It's a very, very ambitious project and one that we believe could be very important to the studio," Richard Cook, Walt Disney Studios chairman, told The Hollywood Reporter. "The story and the characters are so inviting that audiences around the world will be excited for the franchise." The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is tentatively set for a Christmas 2005 release, and Disney retains the option to release subsequent films based on the Chronicles of Narnia franchise.

So it looks like we are looking at a Christmas '05 release.

Lowly Bantha Cleaner

03-16-2004, 11:02 PM

Yes, but will the pic feature any Turkish Delight? lol

scruffziller

03-17-2004, 09:02 AM

C.S. Lewis is a Christian, but the CON series is more fantasy with Christian overtones, i.e. Aslan (the Lion) allows himself to be humiliated and executed to save Narnia, then rises again because of his selfless sacrifice. So yeah, there are Christian overtones to the series. But it really is a wonderful epic.
I thought on the Two Towers Extended Cut Bonus DVDs it said that C.S. Lewis was an atheist?:confused: Because I thought it said that he and Tolkien would have long arguments/discussions about what was what in the universe to that nature.

Kidhuman

03-17-2004, 10:41 AM

I loved the old cartoon of The Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe. This sounds cool and i hope they do it justice for the big screen. I never read any of the books(as I am not the reading type person), and had no idea it was a series.

El Chuxter

03-17-2004, 03:11 PM

I thought on the Two Towers Extended Cut Bonus DVDs it said that C.S. Lewis was an atheist?:confused: Because I thought it said that he and Tolkien would have long arguments/discussions about what was what in the universe to that nature.

Okay, I wrote out a response to this earlier and it was lost when I had a computer crash, so here's the short of it:

CS Lewis is usually considered to be one of the 20th century's greatest Christian writers and thinkers. He wrote a few works of fiction, primarily the Narnia Chronicles and the Space Trilogy, which are excellent but sometimes border on heavy-handed in the religious allegories. Most of the rest of his sizeable body of work are more philosophical works on Christianity (chief among them The Screwtape Letters).

Not sure about Tolkien, but I think he held beliefs somewhat close to Lewis'.

BTW, I finished the Space Trilogy about a week ago, and the third book (That Hideous Strength) references Numenor from Tolkien's works several times. :cool::beard:

JON9000

03-17-2004, 03:37 PM

Is LWW the only one in planning? There are 7 books, and I've read them all, but none of the others are as good. I don't think they could make most of the others, because they do not feature all of the main characters of LWW on a consistent basis.

I also think that there would be some PC problems with the final book, The Last Battle, because its religious overtones are not subtle and the evil doers are turban wearing false idol worshippers. I wonder who they represent? :eek:

Anyway, I have heard Nicole Kidman's name being bandied about as a candidate for the White Witch. I think she is perfect. Or maybe Charlize Theron. That would be a pretty hot White Witch either way... :crazed:

sith_killer_99

03-17-2004, 03:59 PM

Lewis believed that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary, lived, was baptized by John, preached, was arrested, tried, tortured, crucified, died, buried, rose on the 3rd day, appeared to over 500 witnesses, ascended into heaven, and is now through His Holy Spirit building His Church.

C.S. Lewis was a Christian. Here are a couple of links:

http://members.aol.com/thompsonja/cslewis.htm

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ26.HTM

Or a more direct quote:

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." C.S.Lewis

El Chuxter

03-17-2004, 05:43 PM

There are seven books, and I believe I read that there are five movies planned. The Horse and His Boy could easily be cut, and I think The Magician's Nephew could be best served in flashbacks during later movies.

scruffziller

12-18-2004, 02:35 PM

There is a featurette of its production up!!!
Looks like LOTR taken up several notches!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:crazed: From the gods at WETA!!!!!!!!! AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!:cool:

http://movies.go.com/moviesdynamic/movies/trailer?id=612181

Jayspawn

12-28-2004, 10:15 AM

I'd put Lord of the Rings and the Chrolicles of Narnia in the same ball park -but with LOTR always up to bat and Chronicles in the outfield. I knew it was only a matter of time before somebody got it in their head to make Chronicles to cash in on The Lord of the Rings success. Personally, I could care less if they make Chronicles or not.

aceguide

12-29-2004, 08:55 AM

I am definitely looking forward to this series. I hope they do it justice.

I am a little lost as to why LOTR is perceived as so similar to this series. I have never made that association personally. If anyone has insight I would love to hear it.

Beast

01-22-2005, 06:01 PM

Some new production art for the upcomng movie turned up:

http://www.narniaweb.com/news.asp?id=175&dl=1869875

Looking very sweet. It'll be nice to have another movie series to look forward to every year or so, on par with LOTR's and Harry Potter.

The earlier WETA Featurette has been turned into some high quality screenshots over at Narnia Web. Follow the link for some great pics:

http://www.narniaweb.com/transcript_weta1.asp

MTFBWY and HH!!

Jar Jar Binks

bigbarada

01-22-2005, 06:56 PM

Hopefully those 7 years of experience working on LOTR will give these guys a huge head start when working on Chronicles of Narnia in terms of production quality.

It already looks pretty amazing thus far.

I wonder if Aslan will be fully digital or will they film an actual lion for most of the scenes?

bigbarada

01-22-2005, 07:05 PM

I thought on the Two Towers Extended Cut Bonus DVDs it said that C.S. Lewis was an atheist?:confused: Because I thought it said that he and Tolkien would have long arguments/discussions about what was what in the universe to that nature.

Tolkein was born a Protestant but raised Catholic when his mother converted while he was still a young child. He is responsible for influencing his close friend C.S. Lewis to abandon atheism for Christianity. Although Lewis became a Protestant much to Tolkien's disappoinment.

As for the un-PC "Last Battle" novel, so what? Let's see, turban-wearing madmen worshiping a false god and wreaking havoc on the world, where have I heard that story before? Oh yeah! Reality!

Turambar

01-22-2005, 07:54 PM

I will be interested to see how these movies turn out. I think because these books are relatively short and IMO not nearly as deep as LOTR, they should translate better onto the bigscreen -- provided the director sticks to the story.

orangejedi

01-24-2005, 11:02 PM

I heard about this a few years back on another website called countingdown.com... but it had been highly doubtful it would ever come to fruition. I loved The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a kid too. However, I too don't see it being on the same par as LotR... two different works IMHO. I have not seen any pictures or anything... like I did for LotR, I kept away from spoilers as much as I could to keep my expectations down... got burned by TPM big time and learned my lesson well!! Oh, I liked TPM well enough, just did not live up to the hype IMHO... am a big time OT fan.

Anyhoo, I digress. I certainly hope LWW will do well. As for 5 movies total, I find that rather doubtful, but stranger things have happened. Oh, and am not keen on the guy who did Shrek either.... though I do adore the first Shrek movie, I just am not sure how he will do with LWW... guess its another wait and see.

By the by, salutations! :D

scruffziller

01-25-2005, 09:53 AM

Orange Jedi, welcome. The gimmick of your post is cool but it is difficult to read.

orangejedi

01-25-2005, 08:11 PM

Thanks for the welcome scruffziller and sorry about my 'gimmick'... will just use the default from now on :)

Kidhuman

05-21-2005, 10:52 AM

Wow, I saw the trailer for theis movie last night during a screening of ROTS, and it rocked. This is a definite see in the movies. Here is the Yahoo link to it..

The Lion, THe Witch and the Wardrobe (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/movies/trailers/1808475642/1808682777/?http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=mf_frame&id=1808475642&mspid=1808682777&mfurl=http://mediaframe.yahoo.com/launch?lid=wmv-56-p.1361709-148133,wmv-100-p.1361710-148133,wmv-300-p.1361711-148133,wmv-700-p.1361712-148133&p=movies&f=1808475642&.spid=1808682777&.dist=Walt%20Disney%20Pictures&type=t)

scruffziller

05-21-2005, 09:37 PM

I am so glad we have a replacement to fill in our LOTR gap during the holidays.:) Lemony Snicket this last year for both Harry Potter and LOTR didn't cut the bill.:(

Turbowars

05-21-2005, 11:31 PM

Yeah it looks cool. Never heard of it, but it does look promising. Didn't like the lame @ss Potter movies, but I might like these. Is there plans for this to be a trilogy?

Kidhuman

05-22-2005, 12:02 AM

There are 7 parts to the story I believe. Dont know if they will do all seven, but being called The Chronicles of Narnia, I would say more than one of em will be made.

El Chuxter

05-23-2005, 01:08 PM

I believe they're doing five. I assume The Horse and His Boy will be cut, and I'm not sure which of the others. The Magician's Nephew could be handled in flashbacks.

This was worth the $9.50 that I spent on my ROTS ticket. :)

scruffziller

05-23-2005, 04:33 PM

Here is the official website. Lots of cool stuff to take in.:cool:

http://adisney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/index.html

Eternal Padawan

07-06-2005, 11:20 PM

So let me get this straight, Chux...you think they won't film Horse and His Boy, and Magician's Nephew could be told in flashbacks? :rolleyes: :D :)

I have been looking forward to this seriesfor YEARS. I was a huge fan as a child and reread them all over and over and over. It wasn't until years later that somebody told me the books were parables for Christianity and I was like 'What??' and then i looked back and totally got the Aslan/God references and the train wreck in the Last Battle.

This movie is going to kick tush!

I, too, am also looking forward to them making Lloyd's Prydian series.

Looks to be a pretty cool movie BUT I am soooo sick of the trailer . . . of course, it's my fault for seeing ROTS so many times but man does this trailer ever get annoying. :D
(same goes for the trailers of Fantastic Four, Batman Begins, Mr and Mrs. Smith - well at least Vince Vaughn is worth rewatching - , and especially War of the Worlds).

So, I think it could be a very cool movie, I just need to shake the trailer from my head. :crazed:

Those big fish things jumping into the air look cool as hell. :cool:

El Chuxter

07-21-2005, 03:00 PM

I saw three truly great previews at Comic Con, which were impressive enough to make me believe we'll all need to adjust our "best of all time" lists very soon.

First was Superman Returns. I predict a 95% chance of this taking Batman Begins' spot as the great superhero film of all time.

Second was King Kong. Jackson, Brody, Black, Watts, WETA, the classic story: there is no way this one can go wrong.

Third was The Lion, The Witch, & The Wardrobe.

These guys love the books as much as anyone. These films will be done right.

WETA (them again!) appear to have topped the LOTR trilogy; in any case, they said the designs are far more complex.

There's no clear plan right now as to how many films will be made, though the core five seem a safe bet to me.

Mr and Mrs Beaver look to be extremely well-done CG characters, and the stuff they showed was still preliminary.

There was a pic of Ron Perlman (!) dressed in a minotaur costume (!!!).

Oh, and there was some other little tidbit they revealed. What was it? I seem to recall it causing a lot of applause for some reason.

Oh yeah.

Liam Neeson is Aslan!

Yes, this will be Neeson's third recent role as a great character who cannot die. :)

Not a bad choice for what's essentially the voice of God.

Kidhuman

11-23-2005, 11:53 AM

Man, I can not wait for this movie. I just finished reading the book(s) and damned if I dont want to see it now. The one story I want them to make is The Voyage of The Dawn Treader. That will be a great movie. Also Prince Caspian

scruffziller

11-25-2005, 09:10 AM

WHOAH KH IS BACK IN THA HIZZZZOUSE!!!!!! What up my New England brotha!!!!:thumbsup: :D .

I downloaded the first 3 auido books off of Audible.com. Have listended to the first hour of Lion so far. Gotta get Trainspotting off of there now.:D
Yea, the CG for Aslan is not breath taking........ IT"S MIND FOOLING!!! You cannot even tell it is CG, it is THAT GOOD!!!!!!

Not sure if anyone knows this but you need to read the books in the intended order, not chronolgical. Here are 2 reviews. POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!! (not really bad though)

(please note that this review concerns only the new publications)
The Chronicles of Narnia are perfect books. They are wonderful for children and adults, and can be read again and again. C. S. Lewis was a brilliant author and theologian, and was competent in what he was doing. I have been reading these books since I was young enough to pick up a book, and I was horrified when I found out they were reprinting them in chronological order! Why have the publishers decided to tamper with the order? reading these books in chronological order spoils all of the surprise and magic out of the first visit to Narnia (in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe), because we already know what's going on. You're not supposed to know about the lightpole or who the professor is yet! Things don't always need to be put in chronological order. If you're going to read them, please read them in the correct order: 1) The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, 2) Prince Caspian, 3)The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 4) The Silver Chair, 5) The Horse and His Boy, 6) The Magician's Nephew, and 7) The Last Battle.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The order in which the Narnia Chronicles should be read and published is a matter of great controversy. In my view, the answer to this question lies in a proper understanding of the deeper level of Narnia. When read on an adult level, the Narnia Chronicles function as a powerful medium used by Lewis to impart powerful spiritual truths about Christianity and theology. But these spiritual truths are conveyed more by Biblical allusions than by rigid allegory. This also has implications for the order of the volumes in this series.
The publishers of this edition have elected to follow the chronological order of the series: 1. The Magician's Nephew; 2. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe; 3. The Horse and His Boy; 4. Prince Caspian; 5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; 6. The Silver Chair; 7. The Last Battle. The chronological order makes the books more strictly allegorical than they really were intended to be, and gives the impression that they are an extended allegory rather than incidental allusions, an incorrect impression in my view. Despite all the talk about allegory, it seems to me that Lewis is more fond of incorporating Biblical allusions where and when he pleases, rather than working with a strict and rigid allegory that tightly binds the plot. Certainly the central Biblical themes of creation, fall, redemption and consummation are present, and form the broad chronological coat-hanger on which the series rests. But ultimately Lewis does not want us to become obsessed with chronology, but with content.

Thus there is something to the vehemence with which so many readers argue that the books must be read in the order in which they were first published, namely: 1. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe; 2. Prince Caspian; 3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; 4. The Silver Chair; 5. The Horse and His Boy; 6. The Magician's Nephew; 7. The Last Battle. While it is true that this originally published order is not chronological, it does enhance the process of discovery about the magical world of Narnia, and slowly uncovers various aspects of its history.

It must be conceded that in a letter written in 1957 (published in "Letters to Children"), Lewis did appear to state a mild preference for the chronological order. But in that same letter Lewis concluded: "So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them." Surely Lewis' own conclusion is correct. Although my personal thoughts are that the originally published order is perhaps to be marginally preferred, in the end each book is a separate story and an independent glimpse into the exciting world of Narnia. It is the understanding of the allusions that deserves our attention, not an artificial reconstruction of a complicated allegory. These allusions do not need to be artificially joined together in a strict chronological sequence to be enjoyed - they are equally profound and enjoyable as they were read by the first readers, namely, in the originally published order.

Kidhuman

11-25-2005, 01:37 PM

I read them in Chronological order. It does take some of the suprise out of the story line if you read them the way they were written, but still none the less a great story line no matter which way you read it.

Jayspawn

12-08-2005, 12:36 AM

Hey Gang! I just returned from an advanced showing of Chronicles of Narnia!

Its good. Its really good. The Lord of the Rings was better!

Kidhuman

12-08-2005, 12:39 AM

how long is it?

scruffziller

12-08-2005, 11:26 AM

2 hours 10 minutes.

Jayspawn

12-08-2005, 12:22 PM

Its 2 hours. Here's my rundown of the movie...POTENTIAL SPOILERS

- Tilda Swinton was GREAT as The White Witch! Very exotic and menacing!

- James McAvoy as Mr. Tumunus! He was hilarious. Very genuine, warm and likable.

- Liam Neeson as the voice of Aslan. Liam has a great voice (as we SW fans know). That was prefect!

- The costumes looked great!

- The musical score should have been better. Its nice background and art studio music but did nothing to enhance the movie's plot or emotions, good or bad.

- Lucy, it seems they were going for a cute Drew Barrymore as a child look. Very likable, good. Her acting was hard to read in some scenes.

- Anna Poppelwell who plays Susan was not as likable as I thought she should be (though I'm no Narnia expert). Her acting was hard to read in some scenes as well -her emotions could have been stretched further. She should have fired more arrows! But I'll tell you ALL now, she could be a major hottie when she gets older! Just so you know -I said it first!

- The CG on the animals was first rate! Aslan looked great! The Beavers, the fox, the Secret Police, all of them.

- The 4 actors playing the older versions of the children looked almost NOTHING like them.

- The battle/war was pretty watered down. It was a PG movie by Disney which is fine if thats what Disney was going for. One of the things that LOTR has the lead in was that they were not afraid to show the ugliness of war, loss and death. Things were pretty censored as far as the battle was presented. That, and the battle didnt show anything that LOTR didnt do 1st or better.

- The whole movie was a little less-epic than I thought it would be. Parts of the movie were rushed and there seem to be things missing. Aslan probably should have had a bigger build-up before showing him, it was hard to sympathize with the characters because I didnt relate to them much- it was hard to feel for or like them.

I have to give The Lord of the Rings the edge over Chronicles of Narnia. 1. LOTR took its time with characters so you knew and discovered things about them. That way when they experience death, loss, love, friendship, you feel with them emotionally. CON was a little stale, but was good enough to get by. 2. As I said above in talking about the battle, it was weak. LOTR did it better. 3. The musical score was sub-par. There are no themes to identify with the characters (Aslan, the Witch, the children). The music did not make the movie at all. Nothing memorable.

Jayspawn's Final Thought. Disney hade this WAY too close in time to The Lord of the Rings. They should have waited several more years before releasing it. It makes Disney the Driver of the band wagon by trying to immediatly capitolize on the "Epic Novel Series/Epic Movie" success of The Lord of the Rings. "Audiences went all out for LOTR so they'll do the same for Us" kind of Disney thinking.

Its a good movie in the end. Nothing Epic.

General_Grievous

12-09-2005, 06:56 PM

Just saw it. I went in not expecting anything spectacular, but I was blown away by it. Everybody involved did a great job, mainly the four Pevensie children, Tilda Swinton, and Liam Neeson, of course. I haven't read the book since 5th grade, and it was nice to have my memory refreshed. Plus, WETA has done it again, just like they did for the LOTR trilogy. The creatures looked great. The whole movie was epic. In fact, I don't know which I liked better, Narnia or Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Narnia had a big battle, while GOF had more humor. I can't choose, I loved them both. Check this one out. It's not as good as the LOTR Trilogy, but it's pretty damn good nonetheless.

JON9000

12-09-2005, 08:42 PM

Thus there is something to the vehemence with which so many readers argue that the books must be read in the order in which they were first published, namely: 1. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe; 2. Prince Caspian; 3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; 4. The Silver Chair; 5. The Horse and His Boy; 6. The Magician's Nephew; 7. The Last Battle. While it is true that this originally published order is not chronological, it does enhance the process of discovery about the magical world of Narnia, and slowly uncovers various aspects of its history.
I think they should be read in published order. I thought LWW was by far the strongest entry in the series (at least as a fourth grader) and it had me hooked. I loved it.

The later in entries in the series are probably better read at a later age. "The Last Battle" doesn't make a whole heck of a lot of sense to a child and is pretty anti-climactic.

If I had read "The Horse and His Boy" first I doubt I would have read the others. But LWW rocks.

Kidhuman

12-09-2005, 11:25 PM

The one I am waiting for is the voyage of the dawn treader. That was a great read.

Slicker

12-10-2005, 01:52 AM

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

I went and reluctantly saw this tonight (I didn't pay so that's the only reason I went) and wasn't particularly wowed by it. The first hour or so was boring and the only part that interested me was the battle.

My favorite part of the battle itself was when the griffons launched from overhead and were dropping the stones. It just reminded me of WWII bombers flying over head.

That was another of my favorite parts. In the first couple of minutes when they Germans are bombing. It's probably the best movie bomber footage done yet. I'm a WWII nerd so I was particularly interested in that.

END OF THE KINDA SPOILERS.

scruffziller

12-10-2005, 10:20 AM

Possible Spoilers

Lord of the Rings minus The Hobbit are more adult oriented stories. Thus, LWW would be somewhat lacking because of its nature as a children's story. Even in the book, CS Lewis takes time aside from the story to talk to the children reading the book about what is going on. There is a line where he is describing the creatures allied with the White Witch and says " a few he cannot describe because if he did your parents will not let you read this book.":) However there is a scene or two in the book that is more violent than I imagined would even be in there. But it sounds like the movie delivers what it is suppose to. I am really excited to see it tommorow.

JON9000

12-10-2005, 02:34 PM

I don't know if I am into seeing this. The book is vividly written, and I have in my own mind created all of the characters to the point I am not sure I want to give it all up and have it replaced by somebody else's vision.

Maybe it is no big deal, because I thought the Lord of the Rings looked (strangely) almost exactly as I had pictured it in my mind except for the Balrog. Maybe that's because they used Tolkien's illustrations. who knows.

scruffziller

12-12-2005, 09:23 AM

WOW!!!!!!

I was amazed at how the movie was 95% right there with the book every step of the way. Very little was different, changed around or even elemintated. Not like LOTR was. What was cool was that the actors actually were duplicating the emotions on their faces and reactions exactly the way it was being decribed in the book.

The CGI effects on Aslan were amazing!!!!!! My bro(who is a computer tech) was telling me at how the CGI on hair on a charachter is very difficult to make look good and believable. He was astounded with Gollum on that feature; but he was realing with delight on Aslan's mane. However, it seemed to me that the lesser CGI charachters didn't get the same attention. The fox seemed a little off.

Also too, the score for the movie seemed off as well. It didn't envoke the emotion it was suppose to. As some of you had mentioned. I would say though that the best time we heard music was Mr. Tumnus' playing his flute.

sith_killer_99

12-12-2005, 12:42 PM

I took my family to see this movie over the weekend and we all loved it!

You are correct, very little was changed or left out!

BTW, this film had a bigger opening weekend than the first 2 LOTR films!

I am hoping they follow it up!

Did anyone stay after the creds started rolling for the follow up. Too cool!:D

scruffziller

12-12-2005, 01:15 PM

Did anyone stay after the creds started rolling for the follow up. Too cool!:D Yea I thought for sure they would leave out that part of the professor telling Lucy that they can't get back to Narnia through the wardrobe. But low and behold!!!!!:thumbsup:

They better get to work on preproduction for Prince Caspian because they need the same actors again. But I'm afraid they will be too old.

sith_killer_99

12-12-2005, 04:26 PM

They better get to work on preproduction for Prince Caspian because they need the same actors again. But I'm afraid they will be too old.

Yeah, my wife said the same thing. I think with the success the film had this weekend, it's a sure bet they will do a follow-up (Prince Caspian). I wouldn't be surprised to hear them begin preproduction in the next month or two.

It would also be cool to see them go back after they finish these and do "The Magician's Nephew".

Kidhuman

12-21-2005, 01:48 AM

WOW!!! I just watched htis flick and it was freakin awesome. I couldnt believe how good it was. I loved it. The CGI was perfect. The actors and actresses were great. The battle scene was awesome.

A tad different from the book, but it held up great. This should be up there for Best Picture

figrin bran

12-21-2005, 02:24 AM

i watched it last weekend and really enjoyed it.

for those who might be interested, they have exclusive figures at the disney store which are far superior to the ones that hasbro put out. i picked up an aslan and a white witch and though i haven't opened them up, they look to be comparable to toybiz's lotr figures.

scruffziller

03-03-2006, 10:58 AM

Here is a pic of the upcoming SE DVD releasing on 4/4/2006. There is also a plain edition out the same day. Rumors are flying that they are going to be pulling a LOTR on us and getting an Extended edition during the holidays. Anyone heard anything else on the truth of that rumor?

Kidhuman

03-04-2006, 12:26 AM

Eeeek, this is a must buy, but if there will be an extended version, I will wait for that.

El Chuxter

03-04-2006, 12:42 AM

If it's like LOTR, I might just get both.

Though with a possible seven films, maybe I will wait on the extended cut. This will require much thought.

Jargo

03-05-2006, 07:05 PM

I'm undecided on this film. it was glossy and well made, but something seems amiss. I just don't know what. although it did make me want a pet centaur. I think they should have gone with unknown voice actors for the creatures though. I thought it steered clear of the christian undertones of the book quite well. I actually preferred watching the story to reading it. C.S.Lewis' style never really grabbed me. but the story itself did.

I hope there is an extended version because some of the edits seemed jumpy. maybe that's why I think something is amiss.

the kid actors weren't too irritating either. though the older actors playing the same were just a bit vomit inducing.

my favourite moment is the woman in the right of the frame looking around as the four kids are being waved goodbye by their mother. this goofy ugly woman turns in profile and steals the scene completely.

it's definitely a movie I'll repeat watch though.

scruffziller

03-08-2006, 02:17 PM

I thought it steered clear of the christian undertones of the book quite well.
Not to shove this thread into the Rancor Pit but.......
Was it suppose to?:confused:
The only thing that I think the film did in that way is that it didn't mention who the "White Witch" really was. And a few other things that specific that I can't remember. If there was any. But they still mentioned Adam and Eve. And everything else was in place. I thought it duplicated the book the most than of any of the LOTR or Harry Potters.
Expalin?